Terez

I was shocked to read more closely and discover that this will be Vitor Luiz' farewell performance with the company. Noooo! Can't believe that's all the notice and viewing opportunity we're getting from this esteemed senior principal. He will be missed.

6 hours ago, pherank said:

Willam Christensen’s 1944 Nutcracker
https://sfballet.blog/2019/willam-christensens-1944-nutcracker/

Related: America's First Snow Queen
https://sfballet.blog/2019/americas-first-snow-queen/

Nutcracker Close Up
https://sfballet.blog/2019/nutcracker-close-up/

I enjoyed the "Nutcracker Close Up" article, Pherank; I've never seen that one before. Elizabeth Mateer looks gorgeous in Arabian; that would have been a fun performance to see. BTW, I was referring to Swane Messaoudi when I queried whether others had seen her perform it. She was a sub for Lizzie P, whom I saw perform it last year (beautifully, of course). Hope it was just a minor issue that took Lizzie P off the cast list for Sunday afternoon.

Thank you, too, for posting the link to the discussion about Allan Ulrich's passing. That was nice to read. There doesn't seem to be a reviewer currently who can match his artfulness. But there you have it -- just like dancers moving on, so do the reviewers.

I attended both opening night and Sunday’s closing matinee performance and was delighted by the energy of the latter – maybe it was like horses sensing they’re close to home/dinner and picking up the pace. (Or is that cows?) The Opera House had a full house; I think there was some hugely popular 11^th hour promo (that made picking up will-call tickets a perfect nightmare but we won't go there...). Lots of fun dancers to see in solo roles: Jahna F and Wei Wang rocked as Queen and King of Snow. Agree with PeggyR’s comment that Jahna dances big, and really looked at home in the role; great upper body presentation throughout. She nailed her final pirouette—four rotations and a clean finish. And Wei Wang has those big leaps, those clean, quiet finishes.

Jennifer Stahl danced SPF and she was a delight to watch. I don’t think I’ve seen her dance that role before (she’s one of my favorite Snow Queens although YY and Carlo on opening night were predictably stunning). It seems each year Jennifer S refines her style, and this year she had a subdued refinement that reminded me of Sofiane in the SPF role. A late change swapped Elizabeth Powell for Swane Messaoudi in Arabian, and she did wonderfully. I’m thinking I’ve never before seen her in a soloist role; anyone else see her dancing this? Gorgeous extensions and arches, she easily maintained the mystique the role requires. Even though she was stepping in on short notice, she worked well with the two males, Sean Bennett and Alexander Reneff-Olson. Bennett was Dr. Stahlbaum in Act I and really stood out, in a good way. I didn’t realize he was so tall. He made a great Dr. Stahlbaum. 

I was very much looking forward to seeing Benjamin Freemantle as the Nutcracker Prince and he did not disappoint. He’s still young, green, (some landings could have been softer) but that always makes it that much more of a thrill to watch. He's got the important stuff: the instinct and the technique (not to mention the talent) for big roles. What I find particularly appealing about him is this enthusiasm and good will that flow from him. (One gets this feeling watching Angelo Greco too.) He and Sasha -- I guess now we have to add “de Sola” since now there are two Sashas -- seemed to work very well together. They both had this youthful enthusiasm that, combined, seemed to make this the happiest (bad description) grand pas de deux I’ve seen performed. Better put, they seemed, as characters, to take delight in it all. The energy, from the audience, the orchestra, the stage, seemed to keep building throughout the grand pas de deux, as the two danced without any visible hiccups/bumps. It was hard to believe it all was at the end of a 30-performance (?) run. Benjamin just gave and gave, and Sasha skipped the single fouetté business in the coda in order to go with all doubles, just tearing through them in perfect form, and you got the sense she could keep going. The audience just went wild at the end. 

In Spanish, I really enjoyed seeing Carmela Mayo and Natasha Sheehan. Although the guys certainly deserve a shout-out (Daniel Deivison-Oliveira, Davide Occhipinti, Jacob Seltzer), my eyes are always drawn to the females dancing here, and those two were really fun to watch. Oh, and in Act 1, Joshua Jack Price threw in an aerial flip/walkover during his solo as the harlequin/jack-in-the-box, which I don’t think I’ve seen a dancer do before. It was very cool, and as surefooted and soundless as the rest of his dancing. Nice.

No new Waltz of the Flowers costumes in sight; that was indeed a strange little blip last year, reading the news in the Chronicle and then, nada. Oh well. I've made my peace with those costumes, and the icky-colored French costumes.

Great show, both times, but I think I would have to say I enjoyed the second one more. (My review for opening night is at Bachtrack, but I'm thinking I'm not supposed to post links here, so I won't, but links can be found at The Classical Girl.)

On a somber note, and this might have already been discussed elsewhere, but Allan Ulrich passed away this past July, and I, for one, will forever miss his elegant, eloquent reviews. Not that I always agreed with what he said, but it amazed me, the poetry and insight he’d put into a 350-word review. As someone who writes about dance (always a work in progress), I've been studying his reviews, his words, over the past 10 years, and just marveling at how interesting they were to read, how much they said about the art form. I will sorely miss his presence in the dance world. 

Oh, so very sorry to hear Vitor Luiz has left. I very much enjoyed all his performances this past season in particular. Wishing him the best!

13 minutes ago, Josette said:

I just got an email from SFB as to their 2019/2020 roster of dancers. Among other items, Misa Kuranaga is joining as a principal, and Sasha Mukhamedov, lately a principal of the Dutch National Ballet, is joining as a soloist (seems odd, considering that she has danced Odette/Odile, Giselle, Aurora, Nikiya and Gamzatti, Cinderella in Wheeldon's Cinderella, also to be danced in the coming SFB season; and, yes, there are only so many principal contracts . . .  but still seems odd).   Also, Ana Sophia Scheller is no longer on the roster.  

Just saw this too. Gasp! The instant I saw Misa K's name, my first thought was, "Who'd they lose?" Sensed that it was Scheller, because otherwise there would have been a "final performance" at the end of last season. Or have any senior principals just up and left, post-season? Glad to see Vladislav Kozlov still on the roster - I felt he was a bit underused last season and I really liked what he did do (but that could have simply been that he was performing other roles on nights I wasn't there). He paired wonderfully with WanTing Zhao. I see Nicolai Gorodiskii is no longer on roster; I never saw him perform at all last season. I guess that sometimes happens, too. (Injury?)

On 6/10/2019 at 10:44 AM, meunier fan said:

I was thrilled to be able to attend a goodly amount of the SFB season in London.  I wrote the below on the British board.  All I can say is that San Francisco is one lucky city.

 

I very much enjoyed the performances (seven in total I think) I saw of the SFB while they were here.  I agree about the lighting - and there is no question but that the level of the dancing was fine;  VERY fine indeed. 

 

While certainly I missed Chung, Van Patten and Scheller (who I have long admired be it with NYCB or SFB), the ladies here in the London SFB company had many standouts.  I adored Froustey in Snowblind.  Those rich eyes have a morse code of their own.  A pensive alphabet kept flashing bright in their yearning.  Yan Yan Tan left me in wonder at the stealth of her elongated limbs as much as of her much appreciated longevity in no matter what work she appeared.  Totally adored Dores Andres - especially when she was matched with the superlative Joseph Walsh - be it in Ratmansky's Symphony No. 9, in Scarlett's Hummingbird or - and most crucially - in Peck's Hurry Up, We're Dreaming.  I saw the latter work a second time with a new cast during the Saturday afternoon matinee and it was just not the same experience.  Far from it.  The first cast held the focus so ably forged by by the initial community of the noted whole.  The second definitely didn't.  It almost struck me as a different work - knowing that, of course, at root it wasn't.  The Scarlett was more but not as assured at that matinee as it had been with its first cast.  Still it made me wonder if the Peck too might have been different/more focused had the choreographer himself been somewhere in the vicinity - much as Scarlett was.  (I know this to be true in the latter's case as I saw him come out of a pass door just before the start of the Hummingbird matinee.)  Sasha De Sola is a true spirit of joy and glistened in whatever role she was given which happily was much.  Young Wona Park defines potential.  I also very much enjoyed Jennifer Stahl (so affectionately ridden in the Marston) and Isabella DeVivo, a force of blissful nature. 

 

This Company too is one rich - as is our own Royal Ballet just now - in male adjuncts.  (I so admired how male on male partnering at SFB became - or most assuredly has become - a matter of simple Outbound course.)  Each of the SFB men were a part of a considerable and certainly notable whole.  The aforementioned Joseph Walsh, the ever electrifying Ulrik Birkkjaer and our own (as already noted earlier on) hair-raising Aaron Robison each dazzled in Ratmansky's Chamber Symphony as the very spirit of Shostakovitch.  Surely this has to be one of the finest dramatic works created for a senior male dancer in the first quarter of this century.  Each man here mentioned honoured it exceptionally.  Luke Ingham and Vitor Luiz (who has guested with ENB) both showed themselves masters of the art of partnering.  For me there were three outstanding dancers in the younger contingent:  the truly remarkable Angelo Greco who managed to hypnotise but never blur in everything he took on;  Lonnie Weeks, who is a genius of soulful bounty.  His closing solo in Wheeldon's gloriously telling Bound To was so affectionately searing in its compassion so as to render this treatise unforgettable.  The audience sat - as a whole - agog at its wallop.  Benjamin Freemantle - a new SFB principal not unlike our own tower of ecstacy, Marcelino Sambe - has the capacity to make simple in the viewer's eye a string of steps which are far from being so.  Theirs is a test of true brilliance.  

 

This was a wonderful gift.  Thank you Helgi Tommason (as astute an SFB Artistic Director as he was a NYCB dancer)  - and thank you Alistair Spaulding for making this prize possible.  It literally broke my heart that the audience for your rich gifts was so undeservedly underpopulated throughout.  Perhaps the time for such has passed in London.  Educational failures may well have come home to roost.  I don't want to actually believe that is true BUT if it IS so it saddens me even more.  I want to see that balletic lexicon extended as each of these works - with the exception for me of the Pita - strove to do.  That said, I felt - throughout - entirely privileged to have been proffered the luxury to attend this feast of balletic colloquy.  The rapturous fruition of its elated intercourse will not only stay in but shall inform my soul for many years to come.  That much I know. I certainly will do what I can to pass such memories on. 

 

 

Gorgeous post, Meunier fan - so enjoyed reading it. (Wish I could have been there in London to watch it all, as well!)

On 5/14/2019 at 9:17 PM, PeggyTulle said:

Also Solomon Golding :

 

Wow, what a beautiful post Solomon Golding wrote here. Wishing him, and other departing dancers, all the best. (And sorry PeggyTulle, for some reason I can only post my reply here, which looks like I'm hijacking your post! - Terez

 

 

 

 

Love the pics, but am not sure about the second female in red for that performance, in the second pic...

Couldn't feel happier!!! Congratulations to the two dancers on well deserved promotions!

Wow, they got that cast list up [relatively] early! Looks great. I'll be attending opening night; crossing fingers that there will be no replacements. (And all set to shrug philosophically when there are.)

Thrilled to see WanTing listed as the mermaid for 2nd cast. Agreed that both casts look very exciting. Am gnashing my teeth that I will likely have to miss this entire production. Sigh... So much good dance, so little time.

THRILLING news! I think the promotion for Conley was a no-brainer, particularly since learning he was a soloist at Tulsa Ballet before coming here. He's got a soloist's energy onstage. I saw that the minute he started dancing Russian during Nutcracker in December.  I saw Esteban Hernandez dance 4 of 6 ballets last weekend, in Programs 5 and 6. He seemed to be getting stronger with each one. Although I do agree that Benjamin Freemantle has been looking sensational as well. And Max would have fit that "tall, princely, danceur noble" type, too. Ah well. 

As for Madison Keesler, YAY!!! I was sorry to see her leave, those years back, and happy to see her return. She's earned her promotion. 

Well. My seeing this performance was doubly amazing, then. It's always so touching and poignant to watch a married couple in a pas de deux, especially one so poignant and emotionally loaded as Die Toteninsel. It is triply poignant now.

No, no no!!

Well, I loved Die Toteninsel [last Sat pm] and I'm not all that surprised. The music, after all. I was surprised how much I enjoyed "Rodeo" and I'm glad I got this chance to see a different side of Peck's choreography. I liked the contrast in stage lighting of all three of the program's ballets (I ranted about "dark" stage lighting in the thread for Program 5.) I liked the contrasts in the program in general (again, ranted in the other thread about this too-homogenous feeling I got from Program 5). The dancing in "Rodeo" was all supreme. So happy to see Sofiane Sylve, and she looked amazing. Nice pas de deus with Carlo. Esteban Hernandez was on fire all weekend long; the trio work with him, Wei Wang and Hansuke was well delivered. Ditto for the "other" group of males: Cauthorn, Freemantle, Castilla, Morse, Orza. Orchestra sounded wonderful; I will always gravitate to the ballets with orchestral classical music. 

Die Toteninsel was dark, yes (and not just figuratively), but it was supremely effective. So good to see Lauren Strongin dancing; she had a beautiful pas de deux with Joe Walsh, also a great dancer to see, whom I haven't seen enough of this season. The tireless Esteban Hernandez did a great job here, too, as did Luke Ingham (stepping in for Vitor Luiz), Dores André and Wei Wang. The whole cast looked great. I hope this one gets repeated next year; it's a winner.

I was fine watching Bjork Ballet last year, but didn't feel compelled to see it a second time. Oh well. I'm not about to complain about surplus time spent watching these great dancers. Elizabeth Powell just tore up the stage in the role SVP had last year. She was very exciting to watch; it seems she is having a stunning season, growing as a dancer by leaps and bounds (no pun intended). Carmela Mayo danced the role Masha had last year - talk about an impossible act to follow. She did just fine, but wasn't able to produce the "wow" factor, and I would have been shocked if she had. Masha just isn't someone who can be easily subbed. But it was exciting to see Mayo give it a strong go. I also enjoyed seeing Ulrik Birkkjaer dance - another of those dancers I haven't gotten the chance to see too much of this past season.

Great program. 

22 hours ago, Quiggin said:

The costumes of "Two united" made the men look especially puffy and shapeless, not very narcissism-making. Narcissus himself (Joseph Walsh) seemed closer to the Prodigal Son in his argument with the world than in traditional treatments of the myth (such as Robbins simple and elegant Afternoon of a Faun). Even when Narcissus was at rest and looking at his reflection, he had the intensity of a cat waiting to snap a fish out of the water.

In Possokhov's The Swimmer of two years ago the protagonist's task was clear – to swim across the county through all its pools and interact with its party goers. Here it wasn't clear what Narcissus was supposed to do other than to choreographically rant. Could he have gone through his mirror image into the other world / world of others? Was he the loved or beloved ( another traditional question in the myth)? There are lots of good paintings at Pompei of the story, which was a favorite with the Romans – perhaps one of them would have made a clearer basis for the set than the Warhol mylar balloon space capsule that occupied a good portion of the stage.

Of the other two ballets on the program, Wheeldon's ballet "Bound To" (itself a kind of essay on narcissism) seemed stronger this year. But with "Your Flesh/Poem" Benjamin Freemantle seemed to have ironed out all the rough edges of his solo, which lost some of its unique character as a result. Last year you could sense how it was constructed, see its seams and sutures, feel its stops and starts and stresses, imperfections that made it a more rewarding experience to watch.

Loved all your comments, Quiggin! (I failed to notice these last few posts/comments before I posted my own.

Reporting in from attending the Sun April 7th matinee performance. I'd seen the other program the night before, and that sort of colored my perspective. (Was that the reason I found myself thinking, "Here we go again, more guys lifting guys" and "great, more 'dark' lighting and music that challenges my ears"?) Pherank, you were right, that the "prize" was seeing Vladislav Kozlov, partnering in a pas de deus with one of my personal [underused] favorites, WanTing Zhao. I was just dazzled by that, in "...two united in a single soul...", which also wins the award for the most awkward title of the season (the decade?). Also very memorable was the pas de deux between Max and Sasha -- and to my favorite aria, "Lascia ch'io Piangia" - and thank goodness composer Daria Novo left this masterpiece by Handel free of the electronic whistles or creaks that made many of the other parts of the score "more interesting." (Her words, not mine. Definitely not mine.) Esteban Hernandez was amazing as Narcissus. So much energy, and he was very good at filling the stage space, in a way that seemed a bit lacking as The Bluebird in Sleeping Beauty. He'd had a big role in Die Toteninsel (LOVED it) the previous evening, and was in Rodeo and was in Bound To. Basically, it seemed like he was everywhere, and in a good way. He had to have been exhausted by the end of Sunday's program. 

Mixed feelings in general about Yuri's ballet. The moods were just too different, the "Narcissus" and countertenor (beautifully sung by Matheus Coura) theme, and then there's this "Hooked on Classics" rendition of Handel and an exuberant corps of 6 [or 8, or 4] dancers bounded around onstage, doing folksy Russian steps, and it just was too much of a stretch for me. A resounding "yes!" to what was said above, about the "Team USA" costumes. I was okay with the women's, but found the men's particularly unflattering. When their backs were to the audience, the look was distressingly feminine, so at odds with the men's strong dancing. Loved "Your Flesh..." and thought everyone danced it very well. Didn't get to see this one last year. Ethan Chudnow did a really good job in that male lead role (lots of solo dancing, so that might not be the right term). Sasha de Sola really stood out too - I don't see her in much contemporary dancing, it would seem, or I've certainly never had the "wow" factor happen, but I did on Sunday. Loved the pas de trois she shared with Elizabeth Mateer (who very much held her own alongside Sasha, always a delight to see with a corps dancer) and I believe it was Sean Bennett (someone correct me if I'm wrong) dancing with them. It was a delightful trio to watch.

I was rather "meh" on  "Bound To." The message was so crammed down the throat, I got it seconds into the first movement and was just irritably waiting for the cell phone theme to end. Yes, there was great dancing. My friend loved the music; I found it just "meh." Again, I can't help but imagine that I would have found it all much more energizing if it hadn't been following "Your Flesh" and the previous night's Bjork Ballet.

I feel compelled to whine about the lighting -- why is "dark" lighting (an oxymoron, that) becoming so vogue? It annoys me. It makes me squint, to no effect. It seems to be cutting off some of my sensory abilities. Of the six ballets I saw over the weekend, it seems at least 4 had compromised lighting. (Thank goodness for Rodeo!)

Whining aside, it was truly great dancing, all weekend long. While I would have liked to see the first cast of this program, it was very gratifying to see how wonderfully the second cast danced it all.

Additional casting...

I'll be seeing the Sat pm performance, and am particularly looking forward to Die Toteninsel. Seems it's being reviewed well, and I'm crazy about the Rachmaninoff tone poem it's set to. Only regret is that I can't see both casts.

Wednesday, April 3, 2019 – 7:30 pm

Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes
Choreography: Justin Peck
Music: Aaron Copland
Conductor: Ming Luke

Dores Andre
Ulrik Birkkjaer
Max Cauthorn
Daniel Deivison-Oliveira
Cavan Conley

Die Toteninsel
Choreography: Liam Scarlett
Music: Sergei Rachmaninoff
Conductor: Martin West

Esteban Hernandez
Lauren Strongin
Joseph Walsh
Dores Andre
Vitor Luiz
Wei Wang

Björk Ballet
Choreography: Arthur Pita
Music: Composers: Björk Gudmundsdottir, Alejandro Ghersi, and Sjón
Conductor: Martin West

Miranda Silveira
Ellen Rose Hummel
Madison Keesler
Wei Wang
Henry Sidford
John-Paul Simoens

Saturday, April 6, 2019 – 2:00 pm

Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes
Choreography: Justin Peck
Music: Aaron Copland
Conductor: Ming Luke

Dores Andre
Ulrik Birkkjaer
Max Cauthorn
Daniel Deivison-Oliveira
Cavan Conley

Die Toteninsel
Choreography: Liam Scarlett
Music: Sergei Rachmaninoff
Conductor: Martin West

Cavan Conley
Jahna Frantziskonis
Max Cauthorn
WanTing Zhao
Luke Ingham
Steven Morse

Björk Ballet
Choreography: Arthur Pita
Music: Composers: Björk Gudmundsdottir, Alejandro Ghersi, and Sjón
Conductor: Ming Luke

Miranda Silveira
Ellen Rose Hummel
Madison Keesler
Wei Wang
Henry Sidford
John-Paul Simoens

Saturday, April 6, 2019 – 8:00 pm

Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes
Choreography: Justin Peck
Music: Aaron Copland
Conductor: Martin West

Sofiane Sylve
Carlo Di Lanno
Esteban Hernandez
Hansuke Yamamoto
Wei Wang

Die Toteninsel
Choreography: Liam Scarlett
Music: Sergei Rachmaninoff
Conductor: Martin West

Esteban Hernandez
Lauren Strongin
Joseph Walsh
Dores Andre
Vitor Luiz
Wei Wang

Björk Ballet
Choreography: Arthur Pita
Music: Composers: Björk Gudmundsdottir, Alejandro Ghersi, and Sjón
Conductor: Martin West

Carmela Mayo
Dores Andre
Elizabeth Powell
Joseph Walsh
Luke Ingham
Ulrik Birkkjaer

More casting. I'll be seeing Sun 2pm performance - can't wait!

Friday, April 5, 2019 – 8:00 pm

Your Flesh Shall Be a Great Poem
Choreography: Trey McIntyre
Music: Chris Garneau

Benjamin Freemantle
Isabella DeVivo
Sasha De Sola
Jennifer Stahl
Steven Morse
Jaime Garcilla Castilla
Alexandre Cagnat
Esteban Hernandez
Lonnie Weeks 

Bound To
Choreography: Christopher Wheeldon
Music: Keaton Henson
Conductor: Martin West

Dores Andre
Sasha De Sola
Isabella Devivo
Jennifer Stahl
Yuan Yuan Tan
Jaime Garcia Castilla
Carlo Di Lanno
Benjamin Freemantle
Angelo Greco
Lonnie Weeks (final solo)

". . .two united in a single soul. . ." 
Choreography: Yuri Possokhov
Music: Daria Novo, after George Frideric Handel
Conductor: Ming Luke
Countertenor: Matheus Coura

Joseph Walsh
Yuan Yuan Tan
Aaron Robison
Sofiane Sylve
Luke Ingham

Sunday, April 7, 2019 – 2:00 pm

Your Flesh Shall Be a Great Poem
Choreography: Trey McIntyre
Music: Chris Garneau

Ethan Chudnow
Jahna Frantziskonis
Sasha De Sola
Elizabeth Mateer
Cavan Conley
Alexandre Cagnat
Mingxuan Wang
Davide Occhipinti
Sean Bennett

Bound To
Choreography: Christopher Wheeldon
Music: Keaton Henson
Conductor: Ming Luke

Wona Park
Ellen Rose Hummel
Thamires Chuvas
Ludmila Bizalion
WanTing Zhao
Alexandre Cagnat
Steven Morse
Max Cauthorn
Esteban Hernandez
Davide Occhipinti
Jaime Garcia Castilla (final solo)

". . .two united in a single soul. . ."
Choreography: Yuri Possokhov
Music: Daria Novo, after George Frideric Handel
Conductor: Ming Luke
Countertenor: Matheus Coura

Esteban Hernandez
Sasha De Sola
Max Cauthorn
WanTing Zhao
Vladislav Kozlov

On 3/21/2019 at 7:06 PM, pherank said:

Thank you, Mira. And thanks to Terez for the article. Peck's Rodeo actually predates the Unbound Festival (it was originally created for NYCB, and is one of his most popular ballets). Hurry Up, We're Dreaming from Program 2 was Peck's contribution to the Unbound Festival. It's kind of unusual, at SFB, to see more than one ballet by the same choreographer in a season, but Dawson's Anima Animus had to be removed from Program 2 due to injuries/pregnancies/career changes, yada yada.
 

Pherank, I know, whoopsie on me! Was horrified when I caught it, over the weekend. I should have come here to the forum, where I would have seen your note earlier. Belated thanks. Reminder to self: this is a great forum for confirming all the correct information. 

Yeah, I'm still regretting the Dawson being pulled. On the positive side, Rodeo looks more classical and less propulsive, so I'm glad I get to see this other side of Peck's choreographic skills.

On 3/21/2019 at 4:34 PM, mira said:

Informative preview post of the two world premieres coming next week to SF Ballet.   I'm looking forward to seeing them!  http://www.theclassicalgirl.com/possokhov-and-scarlett-bring-two-world-premieres-to-the-sfb-stage/

Aww, thanks for posting this, Mira!

What, not promoted to soloist?! (Kidding... Sorta.) 

Well deserved! Congratulations to her. 

On 3/12/2019 at 7:37 AM, PeggyR said:

In the Blue Bird, Jimison was excellent; I suspect we’ll be seeing her in the corps next season, and in more solo roles over the next few seasons.  A very confident, charming, technically secure performance.  I did think her smile looked pasted on, but that’s understandable in a relatively inexperienced dancer making a major debut.  Aside from that, there was no visible tension, although I didn’t think she and Hernandez had much stage chemistry.  He danced beautifully, but he doesn’t project much to the audience:  looks great, not a lot of presence.

As for other ‘new talent’:  in the third act, the Jewels’ Cavaliers were Cavan Conley and Lucas Erni, neither familiar to me, and both scheduled to dance Blue Bird later this week (I’m seeing Conley on 3/13, and Erni on 3/16 matinee).  Very impressive dancing from both.

As to the rest of the performance (Sunday, 3/10):

Froustey was a delight, although a few of her supported turns with the suitors needed to be hauled back to the vertical, which I suspect was the fault of partnering, since she’s usually very centered.  The Rose Adagio went well, the balances somewhat less ‘milked’ than I’ve seen from her before, and the last one was pretty spectacular.  But her insistence on visibly holding on to the balance makes her look tense instead of relaxed and confident.

PeggyR, I was glad to read your comments here. I was at that same performance, and I was rather surprised at the way Froustey had to struggle through some of the Rose Adagio's holds and turns. I do get a sense it was a partnering thing; she's usually so impeccable here. At one point during the back attitude hold (when switching suitors' hands), I thought she was going to fall back. The audience clapped when she didn't (are you remembering this too, or am I dreaming?), but I can't help but think that a dancer must hate that supportive, "it's okay, you're great, even when you [almost] fall!" clapping that comes when a dancer has a noticeable gaffe/wobble. My heart was in my throat, watching that last hold. I adore her; I didn't want her to have a bad balancing experience. It was fascinating to me, watching her maintain her balance in that last hold - it was pure determination that kept her there, which came off as very "Aurora" (read: rebellious 16-y-o girl who's not going to come down without one last splash of a balance). I was glad to see her holding it after the earlier wobble. Now I get that she might have had the earlier imbalance because she was striving to hold onto it, instead of grabbing for the next hand. Like you, I thought she looked/seemed tense. I certainly felt tense, watching!

I thought Jasmine Jimison was an absolute delight. Good heavens, what is she doing as an apprentice?! I guess Helgi only had so many corps de ballet spaces available to slot new members into. Her performance reminded me of Dores André's Enchanted Princess. I also was thrilled by Conley and Erni's performance as Cavaliers. Both of them looked great. I'd seen Conley in Russian Dance during Nutcracker, so I had my eye on him, but Erni was a surprise. 

I also attended opening night, but am thinking that it was oddly unmemorable. That sounds bad; Sasha danced beautifully and without a hitch. Carlo di Lanno was a solid partner. Jen Stahl was a great Lilac Fairy (so funny, to see her and WanTing Zhao switch roles on Sunday, with Stahl as Fairy of Darkness, etc), all the fairies did their variations with charm and distinction. I'm a big fan of WanTing Zhao and it seems her talents are underused. She was absolutely lovely as the Lilac Fairy on Sunday.

Lastly, I thought Vitor Luiz was a fabulous Desiré to Froustey's Aurora. He danced well, was the perfect amount of support, managed to act the role without looking bland or vaguely bored (I think di Lanno still needs to acquire a level of animation/artistry so that he looks like he's found his true love). I don't think I've seen the two of them paired in a story ballet before. Enjoyed it.

Oh, so many exciting casts and pair-ups, so little time (and too far to drive). I'll look forward to hearing others' reports about Naghdi/Walsh and Park/Greco, in particular. Seconding others' comments that Cavan Conley really rocked as one of the Russian dancers in the Nutcracker performance I attended. As soon as the lights went up, I went diving for my program to find his name -- it was brand new to me. Always fun when that happens.

Belated thanks for your comments above, pherank. I enjoyed hearing/reading your impressions, particularly in Appassionata.